The Cherry Orchard is a play written by Chekhov. It is set in Russia during the 1800's and was written with much symbolization to the Russian society at this time. The characters were chosen to represent different beliefs and entire groups of people in Russia during the 1800's. There are even words which the characters use to show the thoughts and feeling of the Russians during the time period. Each act in the play has many similarities and symbolizes some parts of the Russian society.

In act one there is a room which the ladies call the nursery. They call it this even though there have not been any babies born to sleep in the room for years. This gives Madame Ranevsky's house a nostalgic atmosphere. The recent freedom of the serfs and the dying power of the aristocracy is greatly shown in this act. In this act Lopakhin points out, himself, the irony of how he went from a peasant to a landowner and still considers himself "peasant of all peasants".

Costumes of serfs or slaves. Approximately 10-20% ...

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. Oil on canvas. From the c...

Anton Chekhov's Birthhouse in Taganrog, Russia

Anya resembles an idealist of Russia. She tries to convince everyone of the foolishness of her mother's spending habits in France. In this act Pishtchik and Yasha are bottom feeders.

In act two of the play a very symbolic moment is when Madame Ranevsky drops her purse. She talks to herself, complaining about her spending habitts. This shows that she is careless, however, Pishtchik runs to help her. this shows his greed, he only wanted to help her because she had dropped her money. This may represent the way that people were taking advantage of one another and how they became money hungry in Russia. When the point is is put in front of Madame Ranevsky to build summer cottage she is unsure...

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